?Intervene for peaceful Shahid Kisan Sammelan?

ALLEGING that of Betul district administration is preparing for an unnecessary confrontation as regards the Shahid Kisan Smriti Sammelan at Multai on January 12, the Samajwadi Party state unit and the MP Kisan Sangharsh Samiti urged Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to intervene in the matter.

Addressing a press conference today, SP state president Gauri Singh Yadav said the district administration is refusing to return memorial plaques for 24 farmers, who were killed in police firing nine years ago, despite the fact that the CM himself accepted these farmers as martyrs in the Assembly.

The plaques were confiscated from the residence of MLA and national secretary of party Dr Sunilam last year by the district administration.

In a press release issued here, Dr Sunilam charged the district administration with adopting confrontationist stance under the pressure of local MP Vijay Kumar Khandelwal. By working against the statement of the CM, the Member of Parliament is trying to malign the name of Chouhan, he said.

A meeting of the MP Kisan Sangharsh Samiti was held at Betul in presence of Dr Sunilam and president of the Samiti Tunty Choudhary, wherein it was warned that if the district administration tried to obstruct the Kisan Sammelan, campaign would be launched against the CM.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party has demanded that the plaques be returned so that they could be installed at the firing venue as memorials. However, the SDM of Multai refused to return the plaques despite request letter by Dr Sunilam. Yadav said this is in direct contravention of the announcement of the CM and has urged Chouhan to intervene in matter and ensure that the Shahid Kisan Sammelan is held peacefully.

Party general secretary Munawwar Salim, who was present at press conference, said interestingly, the SDM while refusing to hand the plaques back observed that the letter was Dr Sunilam was not ‘written with clean conscience’.

Yadav said the Samajwadi Party would go all out to participate in the Shahid Kisan Sammelan under the instructions of national president of party Mulayam Singh Yadav. The State-level executive members and large numbers of party workers would participate in the convention.

Among other issues, Yadav demanded that the political cases against Samajwadi Party workers and office-bearers and the farmers of Multai be withdrawn. He also condemned the tapping of party leader Amar Singh’s telephone. He announced that RS Yadav was appointed the state president of farmers’ wing of party and Abhay Rajan Saxena was appointed as the city unit president.